In the fictionalized North Carolina being served up in "Pump Boys and Dinettes," the country music pastiche that's now open for business at Skylight Music Theatre, none of the six characters actually works much.

To be sure, designer Brandon Ribordy has stuffed this really fun, vintage 1950s set - half gas station and half diner - with props suggesting that the four pump boys might actually service cars and the two fun-loving waitresses next door might actually take and fill orders. | March 9, 2013»Read Full Article(2)

Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace in West Allis, he attended St. Florian's Church and West Milwaukee High School, and he grew up playing piano at the Wisconsin and Pabst theaters, corner saloons like Little Nick's and on WTMJ radio. | May 21, 2013»Read Full Article(6)

When Keith Hayes stepped to the mic Monday morning, his buttoned-down teal shirt topped with a bow tie made from tire scraps, I wanted to believe every word he had to say.

“Beintween is most interested in the diversity of human activity as art and the urban fabric as its canvas,” he said of his organization to the gathering of community organizers, residents, politicians and press. “Beintween believes this art is real and that this art is fact.” | May 21, 2013»Read Full Blog Post(6)

One of the things that's hard not to miss about artist Cassandra Smith is the way she gravitates toward what are often considered decidedly male things. From animal pelts, nautical rope, axes, deer antlers and taxidermied game, she is at home with the raw materials of man caves everywhere.

But Smith imposes pretty paints, sequins and a design sensibility to transform these found objects into something other than what they were. Through direct application of color and pattern, she creates a tension between natural and organic forms and hard-edged geometries. She alters her materials while honoring the qualities that drew her to them in the first place, she says in her artist statement. | May 21, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

As we count the days until our big, summer reading list arrives (in the Cue section of your Sunday paper), I thought I'd recommend a few reads for art lovers.

“9.5 Theses on Art and Class” by New York art critic Ben Davis is far from a light, beach-blanket read. This collection of essays may break your head. But it's a welcome antitoxin to the art world’s festering cancers, too. | May 21, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

When disasters or tragedies occur, the networks adjust their entertainment schedule accordingly.

Tuesday night, NBC will pre-empt the recap episode of "The Voice" at 7 p.m. to air a one-hour special anchored by Brian Williams from the scene of the tornado devastation in the Oklahoma City area. A new live episode of "The Voice" will air at 8 p.m. | May 21, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Amazon, which already sells everything from books to washing machines to industrial equipment, is making what could be its most novel move yet. It's getting into the art business, according to a release Tuesday from Phaidon, the purveyor of art books.